Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek dies aged 80 following cancer battle

Much-loved host of quiz show Jeopardy! Alex Trebek has passed away at the age of 80.

The host passed away at home on Sunday surrounded by family and friends according to Jeopardy! studio Sony.

Alex informed fans of his pancreatic cancer battle in 2019 in a video on the show's YouTube channel saying: "I wanted to be the one to pass along this information."

"Just like 50,000 other people in the United States each year, this week I was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer," he said.

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"Now normally, the prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I’m going to fight this, and I’m going to keep working."

He added that he would take on the disease "with the love and support of my family and friends and with the help of your prayers."

"I plan to beat the low survival-rate statistics for this disease," he said. "Truth told, I have to! Because under the terms of my contract, I have to host Jeopardy! for three more years!"

"So help me. Keep the faith and we’ll win. We’ll get it done."

Alex had been at the helm of Jeopardy! since 1984, setting a Guinness World Record in June 2014 for the most episodes of a game show hosted.

He won five Daytime Emmy Awards for outstanding game show host and earned an unprecedented 28 nominations.

Earlier this year he gave an update on his health during an appearance on Good Morning America, sharing that just 18 per cent of stage four pancreatic cancer patients make the one-year mark, so he was "very happy" to have "reached that marker".

He admitted he'd struggled with the illness: "I'd be lying if I said the journey had been an easy one," he said.

"There were some good days, but a lot of not-so-good days."

Throughout his battle he made efforts to raise awareness for more education to be placed on the "risks and symptoms" of pancreatic cancer.

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